TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - After a disappointing loss at Bethune-Cookman on
Saturday, the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team was looking to
make a statement against Florida A&M on Monday night at the Al Lawson
Center.

The Aggies did just that, handing the Rattlers their first
conference loss of the season with a 73-52 victory. The Aggies (10-6, 2-1) shot a season-best 52
percent ,including 71 percent shooting in the second half.

"This is bounce-back Monday.
So far this year, we've done a good job with dealing with adversity,
both individually and as a team," said A&T head coach Tarrell
Robinson. "When we have a loss, we do a
good job of responding the next game, and this was pretty much the same
thing."

In addition to showing their mental mettle, the Aggies got a
strong effort from all of their players, including double-doubles from senior
JaQuayla Berry (19 points, 11 rebounds) and junior Tracy King (14 points, 11
rebounds) and a season-high 17 points from redshirt freshman Eboni Ross. Ross has started in the last two games,
replacing injured senior Nikia Gorham at center.

"Eboni Ross really grew up today," Robinson said. "Eboni
Ross gave us a solid inside presence. I
think that was the biggest scoring output inside the paint this year. JaQuayla Berry and Tracy King stepped up,
Jessica Lyons stepped up, Amber Calvin took over the point guard position. It
was an all-around team effort. Everybody
played and everybody contributed."

Berry and King's performance were the first double-doubles
of the season for the Aggies, and also marked the first time since A&T's
victory over N.C. Central on Feb. 18, 2012 that two players have recorded
double-figure rebounds in a game.

The Aggies dominated the Rattlers on the glass and in the
paint in Monday's contest, which were two key areas that contributed to their
loss in Daytona Beach. The Aggies also refocused on defense, answering
Robinson's call to keep a tight leash on the FAMU scorers early.

"I challenged them-we gave up 68 points to Bethune, 33 in
the first half-and I told them that isn't our style of basketball, our brand of
basketball," he said. "We did a good job of holding them to 17 in the first
half."

The Aggies took a 12-5 lead in the first five minutes and
never trailed. A&T lost starting
point guard Adriana Nazario to injury when she collided under the basket with
FAMU's Jasmine Grice on what was called a blocking foul on Nazario.

Calvin replaced
Nazario at the point position, and helped the Aggies take a commanding lead. A shot from beyond the arc by Calvin gave the
Aggies the 32-17 lead that they took into the half. In addition to well-rounded scoring, A&T
forced 10 first-half turnovers and held the Rattlers to 7-for-25 shooting.

The Rattlers (5-11, 2-1) worked to overcome the deficit in
the second half. Grice had 18 second-half points, and junior Kimberly Sparkman
contributed 15 of her 18 points in the second 20 minutes, going 5-for-8 from 3-point
range. But their efforts weren't enough
as the Aggies enjoyed a double-digit cushion for most of the second half.

FAMU cut the lead to nine on a tip-in by Patrice Collie with
17:44 left in the game, but that was as close as the Rattlers got the rest of
the way. The Aggies went on a 9-0 run to
take a 43-25 lead and went ahead by 20 points on a layup by King with 12:22
remaining. Grice led the Rattlers with
28 points.

"It was a good win.
Definitely wanted to win both, but we'll be satisfied with the split and
just move on to our next opponent," Robinson said.

The Aggies will host Howard (8-7, 3-1) at 2 p.m., on
Saturday in Corbett Sports Center.